Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (known as Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken in Japan) is the eleventh installment of the Fire Emblem series and the first to feature online play. Announced in October 2007, the game is for the Nintendo DS and is a remake of the first Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi. The game offers a graphical enhancement from Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi as well as utilizing the dual screen on the Nintendo DS and its online capabilities. The game features Marth as the main character of the game. The story centers on Marth as he embarks on a quest to win back the kingdom of Altea and rescue his kidnapped sister, Elice. Characters that were not present in the original version, such as Frey, have been introduced in this version. Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken was released August 7,2008 in Japan and in Europe on December 5, 2008. The official North America release date is Febuary 16th 2009. Plot Long ago, the continent of Archanea was invaded by the Dolhr Empire, led by the Shadow Dragon, Medeus, and the people lived in fear and despair. However... a miracle occurred. Anri, a youth from Altea, slew the Shadow Dragon using the divine Falchion sword. The Kingdom of Archanea was restored and the world entered an age of peace. But 100 years later... Medeus was resurrected. He joined forces with "Demon King" Gharnef, who shared his ambitions of ruling the world, and launched an attack on Archanea. Archanea was defeated by Grunia's General Camus, and, aside from Princess Nina, the royal family was wiped out. Cornelius, the king of Altea and successor of the heroic Anri, left to battle Medeus, with the Falchion in hand. Meanwhile, Cornelius's only son and the prince of Altea, Marth, awaits his father's return as he passes his days with his martial arts training... Gameplay Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a tactical role-playing game with turn-based battles. Some of the gameplay mechanics of the Fire Emblem series, such as the weapon triangle, were not present in the original Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi, but have been included in this remake. The game will feature over 20 character classes, including armored Knights, airborne Pegasus Knights and Priests wielding recovery staffs. Players can also directly swap a character's class using the "Class Swap" feature, for example from Priest to Myrmidon, although there are limitations on how many of one particular class you can have at the same time. Special classes like Lord or Thief cannot use "Class Swap". In the middle of a battle, players can save their game by moving a unit onto a special "Save Point", which is found on the map and is usually located before a boss fight or a similarly dangerous event. Each Save Point can be used to save the game only once, although players can load from created saves as many times as they want, as long as the save is not overwritten. Players can also choose to make a similar permanent save upon completing a chapter. The Suspend feature from previous games is also present. For the first time in the series, players can battle each other online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. These battles employ teams of up to five characters from the single-player campaign, including the use of "rental" characters, which are copies of playable characters loaned from another player. Combat takes place on a single type of multiplayer-exclusive battle map, which allow free movement as opposed to the Link Arena in prior games. Only two players can do battle at a time. Fog of war can be toggled on or off, and a time and turn limit are also active. Victory is determined by either defeating the opposing army or securing the central castle's flag before the turns are over. Victors are awarded a "Charm" card for their efforts. One of these cards can be used on a party to give it special effects, and use of these cards can be toggled on or off. The Wi-Fi connection is also used to access an online shop, where players can purchase items using currency obtained in the main campaign. Changes from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi *Online Multiplayer *Event Recap and Sound Room Extras *Map Point Saves - One time use saves that are placed on the map. Can be loaded from as many times as you want. *Prologue Chapter - Takes place during Marth's escape from Altea before the original game *Gaiden Chapters *Master Seals *Class Swap *Nabarl and Radd are now Myrmidons *Shiida has an exclusive Wing Spear item that is effective against armors and cavaliers *Pegasus Knights can either promote to Dragon Knights or Falcon Knights, although the Elysian whip item needed to promote into a Falcon Knight is only available through the wifi shop in the extras section. *Weapon Triangle Bonus is now +5 accuracy *Strength is used to calculate Attack Speed *Weapon Skill Stat is replaced with Weapon Levels *Strength and magic stats coexist *Classes such as armor knights, axemen, and hunters can now be promoted. *Clerics now gain experience from using staffs. *New characters not present in the original game (e.g. Frey, Athena, etc.). *Battle scenes are now slightly 3-D like